Eagle mayor details rush to save Rick Hogaboam: ‘I was on autopilot’
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- Rick Hogaboam collapsed at a meeting and died of cardiac tamponade.
- Eagle Mayor Brad Pike immediately began CPR and called 911; EMS took over.
Brad Pike wondered if Rick Hogaboam had lost his train of thought.
The Eagle mayor had watched on Wednesday evening as his colleague from Nampa, sharp and engaged, greeted constituents at a town hall of regional mayors and county commissioners. He’d listened from the dais as Hogaboam dove in to his prepared remarks. And he sat puzzled as the man to his left, whom Pike knew as an articulate and prepared politician, paused and fell silent.
“There were no signs he was in distress — it was rapid onset,” Pike told the Statesman in a Thursday interview. “He was mid-sentence. It was like he was at a loss for words.”
Then Pike heard a guttural sound, and he watched as Hogaboam listed sideways into Pike’s lap. From there, Pike “was on autopilot.”
Pike came to politics about 15 years ago, after retiring as a captain with the Santa Clara County Fire Department in Northern California. He knew the signs and remembered his training. Pike opened Hogaboam’s airway and started CPR, calling into the room for someone to dial 911. Hogaboam went from speaking to CPR in about 45 seconds, Pike said.
“He was rendered aid right off the bat,” Pike said.
Hogaboam died around 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday inside Eagle City Hall. On Thursday, the Ada County Coroner declared the cause of death to be cardiac tamponade — a buildup of blood or other fluid around the heart that prevents the heart from pumping blood properly, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Cancer, infections, trauma and some diseases can cause it.
“When your heart can’t fill with blood properly, it can’t pump as much and your blood pressure drops,” the clinic says in an online post. “Your heart may beat faster (more than 100 beats per minute) to try to pump more blood. … Without treatment, it’s life-threatening.”
Pike said he couldn’t find a pulse from the moment Hogaboam fell. He kept with CPR until Ada County EMS arrived and took command.
“It was pretty instantaneous,” Pike said. “My only satisfaction is that he couldn’t have had better treatment. We did our part, and we’re comfortable with that.”
Pike mourned Hogaboam, whom he described as a smart young mayor with a head for understanding the workings of government.
“It’s a sad deal,” Pike said. “He was such a good guy. A family guy, a man of faith — just a solid dude.”
Pike was back at work Thursday morning, taking meetings and phone calls from reporters. He said “it’s in any first responders’ blood” to spring into action. But he was still coming to terms with the events of the night before.
“It’s a process,” he said. “It certainly affected me.”
Pike said he has received an outpouring of support since news broke of Hogaboam’s death, and his attempts to save the 47-year-old’s life.
“This is exactly why we moved to Idaho,” he said. “These are people who love and care for you.”
The Nampa City Council held an emergency meeting Thursday afternoon to open the process of finding Hogaboam’s replacement, granting Council President David Bills authority to act as mayor for 90 days or until the council names a permanent mayor, whichever comes first. The unanimous vote should allow Nampa’s city government to carry on as usual — or close to it — as the council looks to fill Hogaboam’s position and grieves the hole left by his absence.
A memorial service for Hogaboam is scheduled at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, the city announced Thursday.
“It’s heavy, but it’s life, too,” Pike said. “You gotta push through this. And I can confidently say that Rick would want that as well.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 6:09 PM.